About Us

Letter from the Editor

stokeontrentlive.co.uk is the digital news channel of The Sentinel newspaper.

StokeonTrentLive covers the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, the Staffordshire Moorlands and towns and villages including Crewe, Nantwich, Congleton and Stone.

Our journalists, based in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, oversee a 24/7 website which keeps readers up-to-date with breaking news and sports stories.

The Sentinel is one of England’s best-selling regional newspapers.

The Staffordshire Daily Sentinel made its first appearance on Tuesday, April 15, 1873, as a four-page sheet costing 1/2d a copy.

One hundred and forty four years late the newspaper and its website proudly remains at the heart of the community in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.

Our website, first established in 1999, is growing at an impressive rate and is a place where you can find out everything that’s going on in the area – from breaking news to the latest sport and features.

As of August 2017, the website also includes the online platforms for the weekly newspapers, the Leek Post & Times and Staffordshire Newsletter. Content from the county magazine Staffordshire Life is also hosted on the site.

The Sentinel itself has won a raft of industry awards and journalists take great pride in championing the newspaper’s readership and its patch.

In recent years The Sentinel has also successfully campaigned to save the name of the Staffordshire Regiment, to help save Port Vale Football Club and to bring the ceramic poppies handcrafted here in Stoke-on-Trent for the Tower of London WW1 commemorations back to the Potteries.

In addition to its annual campaigns to highlight community heroes, sporting stars and business people, this year the newspaper has investigated the growing problem of homelessness in North Staffordshire, run a campaign to raise awareness of dementia and, from the outset, has played an important role in Stoke-on-Trent’s bid to become UK City of Culture in 2021.

The Sentinel always promotes the Stoke-on-Trent Literary Festival and is a key supporter of local charities including the Douglas Macmillan Hospice and Donna Louise Children’s Hospice. We also shouldn’t forget our popular Baby & Toddler of the Year and Pet Idol competitions which never fail to raise a smile.

Politically, The Sentinel is non-partisan. Our journalists cover six local authorities – Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, Cheshire East Council and Staffordshire Borough Council.

We are the only media outlet that covers Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court and North Staffordshire Justice Centre on a daily basis.

The Sentinel is also a proud supporter of our Armed Forces. The newspaper has historic links to the former Staffordshire Regiment – now the Mercians – going back to the Zulu Wars of the 19th century.

In September 2017, the newspaper was one of several companies across the West Midlands to be awarded the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award. This is handed to employers who have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and have ‘demonstrated and communicated supportive behaviour’.

We are delighted to be a launch partner of The Trust Project as we endeavour to make it simpler for readers of all ages and from all around the world to discover more about who we are and what we believe in.

How our journalists work

Ethics policy

The maintenance of high editorial standards is at the core of The Sentinel and StokeonTrentLive’s business philosophy.

Reach PLC, The Sentinel and StokeonTrentLive's parent company, is a member of and is regulated by IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

Our journalists work according to The Editors’ Code of Practice, which sets the benchmark for ethical standards in journalism and is enforced by IPSO. On joining The Sentinel, all editorial staff complete a training course in the Code and attend legal refresher training.

At StokeonTrentLive and The Sentinel, we recognise that protecting the rights of the individual consistently comes into conflict with the public’s right to know. This means we have to make difficult judgements, sometimes quickly, which are impossible to get right all of the time. Regular bulletins and seminars give staff the best opportunity to learn from mistakes, whether our own or those of other parts of the media industry.

We are a launch partner of The Trust Project, an international initiative to make it easier for readers to find out more about the organisations and the people providing them with news, and to support quality journalism.

Verification and fact checking

We expect our staff to use their best endeavours to verify the stories being put forward for publication.

Unnamed sources

Journalists have an obligation under IPSO’s Editors’ Code of Practice to protect their sources, but we also have a duty to establish that the sources we use are reliable and that material has been appropriately obtained. Story provenance is ultimately the responsibility of the Editor.

When using unnamed sources, the company relies on the integrity, experience and professionalism of its staff.

Our awards and successes

We are multi-award-winning title and many of its journalists have won awards for their individual work.

Corrections Policy

If you believe a story we have published is inaccurate, please contact the editorial team. You can:

Once verified, we will correct the story on the website as soon as possible. Where appropriate, the fact a correction has been made will be noted on the story and/or on the corrections and clarifications page.

If you have an issue about how The Sentinel or any of our print titles has written about you personally or has treated you and wish to make a formal complaint over a potential breach of the Editor's Code of Practice, please see Trinity Mirror's Complaints Policy and Procedure.

Our People

Editor-in-Chief: Martin Tideswell

Executive Editor Digital: Mary-ann Astle

Executive Editor Print: Rob Cotterill

Our Business

The Sentinel and StokeonTrentLive are part of Reach PLC. Reach PLC. is Britain’s largest newspaper, magazine and digital publisher, with a print and online portfolio reaching 38.6million people every month. The award-winning Reach PLC publications stretch across England, Scotland and Wales, with more than 150 newspaper titles and more than 80 websites. These iconic brands sit at the heart of their communities, forming part of the fabric of everyday life for thousands of people across the UK. Find out which of our regional titles is nearest you, whether online or in print.

Reach PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is part of the FTSE SmallCap Index.

StokeonTrentLive does not have a paywall and is available free to readers both on the web and as an app. As such, you are kindly asked to whitelist stokeontrentlive.co.uk if you are running an ad-blocker.

In addition to newspaper sale price, our titles are funded by advertising, partnerships, sponsorships and affiliate commission, which are regulated by the ASA.

Diversity Policy

The Company is committed to increasing the service quality, profitability and efficiency of the Company by attracting and recruiting the people who are best suited to meet the standards for the role and the Company without regard to race, creed, colour, nationality (subject to legal eligibility), ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, sex change, sexual orientation, marital status, connections with a national minority, membership or non-membership of a trade union or, unless justifiable, disability.

We pursue a policy of equal opportunities for all employees and potential employees.

Equal Opportunities

The Reach PLC Group continued its commitment to equality of opportunity in all its employment practices to ensure we attract and retain the best people. In 2016, both the number of women within the Group and the number of women occupying senior managerial roles increased to 42% of staff (2015: 37%) and 31% (2015: 24%) respectively. Senior managers have responsibility for key businesses or functions within the Group.